In Defence of Acrylic Yarn

I have attempted this topic once before, for a different publishing platform, but I grew too heated in my arguments and the article was scrapped before publication.  I'll try to keep it polite this time, but I feel quite strongly about some aspects of the subject so please let me apologise in advance if I ruffle some feathers. 

From what I observed, for most of the knitting community 'acrylic' seems to be a dirty word.  Hardly any patterns specify acrylic yarn as suggested material (some baby knits excepted).  'Anything but acrylic' appears to be the obligatory answer when you're asked which yarn is your favourite.  In general, knitting with synthetic fibre is a crime akin to farting in a ballroom - you may not be jailed for it, but it's certainly not something that happens in a polite society. 

Well, I've always had a soft spot for the underdog and I have to confess that I'm often irked by such attitudes.  While acrylic does have some disadvantages, it also has many qualities that more than make up for it.  A knitting book (the title of which I cannot recall just now) once described it as 'low in snob value' and I think this explains perfectly why synthetics are shunned and also, perhaps, why I like them so much. 

Because, let me say it loud and proud, I love acrylic yarn!  Ok, maybe love is too strong a word but I certainly can see nothing wrong with it.  Some 80% of yarn in my stash is non-natural and I intend to keep it this way.  Why?  A couple of reasons.

1.  Ease of washing

This is the big one.  Since I tore my hands bloody many years ago in a washing machine-less student accommodation, I get pissed off when I even think of hand washing.  Why, then, would I want to keep on making clothes that can only be cleaned this way?  I throw my acrylic sweaters to the washing machine, spin the hell out of them and voila, the job is done.  By the way, did I mention that acrylic fibre dries really, really fast?  And doesn't felt?

2.  No need to block

I may not hate blocking, but I don't exactly love it, either.  Acrylic does not need blocking, just the opposite - heat blocking may destroy it.  Off the needles = ready to wear.

3.  Softness

Hair shirts may have been in vogue back in the medieval times, but we've moved on since then.  I can't think of any reason why I would want to spend time making a garment that I could not comfortably wear afterwards.  Obviously, you can have soft natural fibres - fair play there - but I've seen wools that I would not dress my worst enemy in.  So what if it's natural when it's also unwearable?  Acrylics - especially baby acrylics - are almost universally soft and smooth.

4.  Price

I am very against turning knitting into budget-breaking, elite hobby.  Let's be frank - natural fibres are waaaaaaaay more expensive than acrylics.  Sure, I get that hand dying and spinning are work intensive, time consuming crafts.  I'm happy for those who manage to stay afloat in the business and I wish them many loaded, snobbish clients.  In the meantime, can I have my yarn with low price tag, please? 

I could probably think of a few more arguments in defense of the humble acrylic, but this post is already too wordy for comfort.  I hope I managed to convince you that synthetics are not quite as bad as the rumour would have it. 

If you disagree, feel free to voice off in the comments. 

A Bagful of Yarn

I don't know about you but around here getting the car through a technical inspection is a cause for celebration.  Since my Other Half did all the repairs himself (I'm! So! Proud!), we still had some car money left - rather than giving it all away to assorted mechanics - and I was able to treat myself to a bag full of yarn.

The bag contains enough fibre for two sweaters, which chimes nicely with the changing season.  It's bloody cold around here, y'know?  The gloriously red aran should be just the thing to remedy this. 

Believe me, the image does not do the colour justice.

I'm not a massive fan of aran sweaters but recently I've come across a few nice patterns that I can actually picture myself wearing.  Plus, I've had a curious, aran-themed interaction with a local knitwear supplier which may have (and didn't) resulted in a commission, so I thought it best to be prepared.

You see, I live near Galway and a stone's throw away from Aran Islands themselves.  THE Aran Islands.  There are plenty of tourist-oriented knitwear shops nearby and they inevitably attract my yarnie interest.  I'll leave a detailed analysis for another day, suffice to say that I've come across an interview with one of the local entrepreneurs where the lady (which shall not be named) complained bitterly of advanced age of her knitters.  Aran knitting, she claimed, is a dying art so hurry up and buy your sweater!  Always ready to help out, I emailed the lady and offered my services.  It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, partly motivated by genuine interest and partly a test of her sincerity.  I even offered to knit her a sample garment - hence the yarn. 

The lady never got back to me, so I guess aran knitters are not so scarce after all and the aran yarn I bought will be warming my own back, eventually.

The other yarn is some very soft, very fine acrylic, the same stuff that I used for my opera gloves a while ago.

I got my hands on a copy of Alice Starmore's Tudor Roses book and I fell hopelessly in love with the Elizabeth I pattern.  Seriously, I HAVE TO have this pullover.  My yarn is rather finer than specified and Ravellers warn that the pattern needs some serious mods so I predict a long tech editing session before any knitting begins.  I'll get there eventually.  Possibly next summer, or one after that, but I will have this sweater.  

In other news, the Puppy is as always extremely interested in all my activities, including the photo session.

She's over a year old now, so technically not a puppy anymore, but tell me one thing - doesn't she model like a pro?

Happy knitting, guys!

3 piece set and pricing commissions

Recently a friend of mine showed me this picture and asked:

'Can you make this?'

'Sure, why not?'

I puzzled over the pattern for a few days and once I thought I had it figured out, I bought some super-soft acrylic yarn and set to work.  After a week of leisurely paced knitting, I had this:

Colours were slightly changed as per my friend's request, but otherwise I think I got it pretty close, don't you?

I was promised pictures on a live model but they are slow to materialise, so for now I only have flat (and not so great - apologies!) shots.  I'll be sure to post the pics here as soon as they arrive, and believe you me, the little girl looks adorable in her new clothes!

Flower on the hat is stitched on permanently...

...but the rest are only tied on, so they can be moved around.  On poncho, I placed them to hide the seam but they might look even better elsewhere.

It was my very first attempt at a triangular shawl and as you can see, I don't yet have full control over the angles :).  I didn't bother with writing a chart, I just improvised all the way.  To a degree, the shape was forced by the stitch pattern but there might be a way to get around it.  I quite like the irregular look though, so fighting geometry will be left for another day.

The set was such a success, that I almost got a commission to make another one.  Almost, because eventually the project fell apart over price.  I requested 35 euros (around 6 of which I would have to spend on materials) and to tell you the truth, I think it's a very lousy pay for three days of fairly intensive knitting.  Yet, my prospective client was not prepared to accept the price tag. 

Not that I'm terribly heartbroken.  Knitting the same pattern twice is boring and 30 euro one way or another doesn't make any difference to my budget.  Still, the whole situation got me thinking.  Is it even possible these days to make money knitting?  With workers in Asian sweatshops churning pieces out for pennies and general public simply not giving a crap?  I'm inclined to say 'no', but perhaps you have different experiences?  Please share!

PATTERN:

Improvised from the picture found online (see link above).

Finished! - Mayabee, or Once More With Feeling

Just one last toddler knit and I'm done for a while.  That is, the string of July birthdays is over, but it looks like there are a few commissions headed my way so I'd better not call it a day before the sun sets... 

Anyway, here's my toddler pullover no. 2, Mayabee.

I'm quite proud of it, you know?  It turned out even prettier than I ever thought it would.  Textured fabric is quite decorative in itself, braids on sleeves and all, but it's the hood that really makes the piece this time. 

It was my first time knitting a hood and I was a little anxious.  No need - hoods are easy!  I loosely followed an excellent tutorial found here, improvised a little and voila!  My hood even has a pompom...

...and a tiny lacy pattern where I had to increase for depth. 

The best news of all, Mayabee fits its owner almost perfectly (sleeves could be a little wider towards the shoulder, but I'll correct for this if/when I publish the pattern).  It looks adorable on the little girl it went to;  I might convince the parents to lend me a shot or two for the blog.  Check back in a while :)

PATTERN:

My own. 

It is sized for a one year old, but one of the commissions mentioned above is for a two year old version.  I'm not confident enough of my pattern-writing skills just yet, but please let me know if you would like to see instructions for Mayabee released into the world :).

Finished! - Verca

As mentioned before, July is a Month of Small Knits for me.  Another soon-to-be birthday girl, another toddler garment.  This time a pullover, named after the future owner.

The pattern is really simple, no armhole shaping and only a few gentle decreases on sleeves.  I'm sure even a complete beginner will fly through it with no difficulty.

Pieces are worked separately on straight 5 mm needles and stitched up afterwards.  I used acrylic self-striping yarn, DK weight.  By pure chance I achieved colour symmetry - stripes on front and back are a perfect match, sleeves identical.

Both front and back are worked in a neat, square grid stitch, with a garter stitch border.  Back is a bit wider than the front, hence the trapezoid neckline.  Sleeves are simple stockinette with border to match the body.

Surprise, surprise, I've finished the sweater off with crochet flowers.  Yes, I know, it gets monotonous.  I am through with the crochet flower binge though and you won't be seeing them here for another while. 

Neck opening is edged with a simple crochet stitch, with a button added on each side.

As you can see, my puppy is always eager to assist in the photo shoot!

One more toddler knit coming soon:  a textured hoodie for a one year old. 

PATTERN:

My own (with the exception of crochet flowers). 

The Verca pullover will be gifted away in another week or so and if it turns out that I achieved a reasonable fit, I will share the pattern here, for free.

Quick knits - Crochet Football

With the World Cup final only days away (and wasn't that a mighty trash that Germany treated Brazil to today!), I feel I'm just in time to present my new-ish creation:

A quick knit, planned as a back-up present in case Poppy Girl didn't fit, it took only two days to crochet.  Made entirely from acrylic DK yarn, it is composed of 20 hexagons and 12 smaller pentagons, stretched over a shop-bought rubber ball.  Initially I planned to fill the ball with toy stuffing instead, but I would never achieve such neat tension, and now it bounces, too!

One more picture, this time taken with borrowed, ultra high resolution camera:

Despite my efforts, colours came out a bit funny on all my pics for which I apologise.  In reality, the ball is a combination of very warm shades of yellow and brown (think: sunflowers), accented with bright red thread.

It was enthusiastically received by the Birthday Girl, along with Poppy Girl, which fitted just fine.  BTW, I DID fix those curling shoulder straps in the end.  It took a bit over an hour and I did not enjoy the process much, but I feel it saved the knit.  The devil's in the detail!

One more thing:  apparently, if you are two, footballs are really cool to sit on and I have a picture to prove it :)

PATTERN:

Found online, here.  It is written in Russian, but includes a schematic so it can be worked with even if you can't read the language.